A Half-Bridge Modular Multilevel Converter Topology with DC Fault Tolerance Capability

Published In

2022 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE)

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

10-2022

Abstract

Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) are extensively used in high-voltage and high-power applications such as HVDC transmission systems due to their unique advantages, in terms of modularity and power quality in particular. In such systems, DC short-circuit fault is a common and severe fault. A Half-Bridge (HB) based MMC converter behaves similar to an uncontrolled rectifier under a DC fault condition, resulting in high fault currents. This paper proposes a pole-to-pole DC fault-tolerant half-bridge MMC converter suitable for HVDC systems. In the proposed converter, each of the arms feature the conventional HB sub-module in series with the proposed fault-tolerant sub-modules. The approach is capable of the blocking mode of operation to block the AC grid from feeding into the DC fault. Further, the work proposes a limiting mode of operation to maintain the AC grid stability while limiting the fault current during non-permanent faults thus improving the converter reliability. Together with detailed analytical results, the paper also presents simulation and experimental results.

Rights

Copyright © 2022, IEEE

DOI

10.1109/ECCE50734.2022.9947627

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/39021

Publisher

IEEE

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