Coordinated Capacitor Voltage Balancing Method for Cascaded H-bridge Inverter with Supercapacitor and DC-DC Stage

Cascaded H-bridge inverter(CHBI) with supercapacitors(SCs) and dc-dc stage shows significant promise for medium to high voltage energy storage applications. This paper investigates the voltage balance of capacitors within the CHBI, including both the dc-link capacitors and SCs. Balance control over the dc-link capacitor voltages is realized by the dcdc stage in each submodule(SM), while a hybrid modulation strategy(HMS) is implemented in the H-bridge to balance the SC voltages among the SMs. Meanwhile, the dc-link voltage fluctuations are analyzed under the HMS. A virtual voltage variable is introduced to coordinate the balancing of dc-link capacitor voltages and SC voltages. Compared to the balancing method that solely considers the SC voltages, the presented method reduces the dc-link voltage fluctuations without affecting the voltage balance of SCs. Finally, both simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the presented method.

Online Capacitor Voltage Transformer Measurement Error State Evaluation Method Based on In-Phase Relationship and Abnormal Point Detection

The assessment of the measurement error status of online Capacitor Voltage Transformers (CVT) within the power grid is of profound significance to the equitable trade of electric energy and the secure operation of the power grid. This paper advances an online CVT error state evaluation method, anchored in the in-phase relationship and outlier detection. Initially, this method leverages the in-phase relationship to obviate the influence of primary side fluctuations in the grid on assessment accuracy. Subsequently, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is employed to meticulously disentangle the error change information inherent in the CVT from the measured values and to compute statistics that delineate the error state. Finally, the Local Outlier Factor (LOF) is deployed to discern outliers in the statistics, with thresholds serving to appraise the CVT error state. Experimental results incontrovertibly demonstrate the efficacy of this method, showcasing its prowess in effecting online tracking of CVT error changes and conducting error state assessments. The discernible enhancements in reliability, accuracy, and sensitivity are manifest, with the assessment accuracy reaching an exemplary 0.01%.

Model Predictive Control for Cascaded H-Bridge PV Inverter with Capacitor Voltage Balance

We designed an improved direct-current capacitor voltage balancing control model predictive control(MPC)for single-phase cascaded H-bridge multilevel photovoltaic(PV)inverters.Compared with conventional voltage balanc-ing control methods,the method proposed could make the PV strings of each submodule operate at their maximum power point by independent capacitor voltage control.Besides,the predicted and reference value of the grid-connected current was obtained according to the maximum power output of the maximum power point tracking.A cost function was con-structed to achieve the high-precision grid-connected control of the CHB inverter.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed control method was verified through a semi-physical simulation platform with three submodules.

FCS-MPC for four-switch three-phase AC-DC converters with DC-link capacitor voltage balancing

Due to the decrease in the number of switches for the four-switch three-phase alternating current-direct current(FSTP AC-DC)converter,it can easily lead to DC-link capacitor voltage imbalance and the system stability reduction.In order to solve these problems,a finite control set model predictive control(FCS-MPC)for FSTP AC-DC converters with DC-link capacitor voltage balancing is proposed.In this strategy,in order to facilitate calculation,theαβcoordinate system model is established and all voltage vectors are evaluated by establishing a cost function.During the whole process,phase locked loop(PLL)and complex modulation strategy are not required.In the new established cost function,the additional objective term of suppressing capacitor voltage fluctuation is to eliminate effectively the capacitor voltages oscillations and deviations and improve the system reliability.The simulation results show that the proposed strategy can keep the capacitor voltage balancing and has good dynamic and static performance.

Capacitor Voltage Imbalance Mechanism and Balancing Control of MMC When Riding Through PTG Fault

Modular multilevel converter (MMC) based fault ride through (FRT) control is a promising solution to deal with the pole-to-ground (PTG) fault in high voltage direct current (HVDC) system. However, when MMC switches to the FRT control, capacitor voltage imbalance between upper and lower arms will occur, resulting in the deterioration of FRT performance. This letter provides a comprehensive analysis for the imbalance issue from the perspective of fundamental frequency circulating current (FFCC). It is found the imbalance during FRT stage will not expand continuously, but converge to a certain value gradually. The specific imbalance degree is closely associated with the amplitude of FFCC. In order to solve the imbalance issue, an open-loop balancing control is proposed. By introducing a fundamental frequency feedforward item to the inherent circulating current control, the proposed method can not only balance the capacitor voltages, but also minimize the amplitude of FFCC, and consequently the power loss of MMC during FRT process can be reduced. Finally, simulation results of PSCAD/ EMTDC verify the validity of theoretical analysis.

Mitigation of Transients in Capacitor Coupled Substations Using Traditional RLC Filter Techniques

This article presents an extensive examination and modeling of Capacitor Coupled Substations (CCS), noting some of their inherent constraints. The underlying implementation of a CCS is to supply electricity directly from high-voltage (HV) transmission lines to low-voltage (LV) consumers through coupling capacitors and is said to be cost-effective as compared to conventional distribution networks. However, the functionality of such substations is susceptible to various transient phenomena, including ferroresonance and overvoltage occurrences. To address these challenges, the study uses simulations to evaluate the effectiveness of conventional resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) filter in mitigating hazardous overvoltage resulting from transients. The proposed methodology entails using standard RLC filter to suppress transients and its associated overvoltage risks. Through a series of MATLAB/Simulink simulations, the research emphasizes the practical effectiveness of this technique. The study examines the impact of transients under varied operational scenarios, including no-load switching conditions, temporary short-circuits, and load on/off events. The primary aim of the article is to assess the viability of using an established technology to manage system instabilities upon the energization of a CCS under no-load circumstances or in case of a short-circuit fault occurring on the primary side of the CCS distribution transformer. The findings underscore the effectiveness of conventional RLC filters in suppressing transients induced by the CCS no-load switching.

Design of an Equipotential Shielding 1000 kV Capacitor Voltage Transformer

With the increase of the operating voltage and enlargement of the size of the capacitor voltage transformer(CVT),the additional measurement error caused by stray capacitance coupling and leakage current along the polluted surface of the CVT becomes noticeable.The equipotential shielding CVT(EPSCVT)was proposed and designed by the authors to mitigate these effects.An improved conceptual design option of the EPS-CVT is presented in this paper with special references to this study to improve the shielding effect without the increase of shielding capacitance.A proposed method of non-uniform capacitance configuration can improve the shielding effect significantly without an increase of the external shielding capacitance.Based on this achievement,the potential difference and the capacitive current exchange between the internal measuring system and external shielding systems are significantly reduced.In the evaluation of the shielding effect for the influence of stray capacitance,compared with a conventional CVT with equal capacitance,EPS-CVT can reduce the measurement error by two orders of magnitude.In addition,the measurement error caused by the leakage current can also be greatly reduced,especially for the reduction of the phase angle error.Based on the improved design method,a design scheme for an engineering application is proposed which can achieve effective shielding while ensuring as good a technical performance as the existing CVT.

New method for estimating flying capacitor voltages in stacked multicell and flying capacitor multicell converters

Multicell converters are an interesting alternative for medium voltage and high power applications,because of the increased number of output voltage levels and apparent frequency.The two most significant types of multicell converter are the flying capacitor multicell (FCM) converter and its derivative,stacked multicell (SM) converter.Balancing flying capacitor voltages is an important constraint to the proper performance of FCM and SM converters.Thus,observation of the flying capacitor voltages used in active control is valuable,but using voltage sensors for observation increases cost and size of the converter.This paper deals with a new strategy to estimate the flying capacitor voltages of both FCM and SM converters.The proposed strategy is based on a discrete time model of the converter and uses only a load current sensor.The circuit was simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC software and simulation results were presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed estimation strategy in observing the flying capacitor voltages.Simplicity is the most significant advantage of the proposed strategy,its performance being based on simple equations.

Flake tantalum powder for manufacturing electrolytic capacitors

The FTP200 flake tantalum powder was introduced.The microstructures of the powder with leaf-like primary particles having an average flakiness of 2 to 20 and porous agglomerated particles were observed.The chemical composition,physical properties,and electrical properties of the FTP200 powder were compared with those of the FTW300 nodular powder.The FTP200 powder is more sinter-resistant,and the surface area of the flake tantalum powder under sintering at high temperature has less loss than that of the nodular tantalum powder.The specific capacitance of the flake tantalum powder is higher than that of the nodular tantalum powder with the same surface area when anodized at high voltage.Thus,the flake tantalum powder is suitable for manufacturing tantalum solid electrolytic capacitors in the range of median and high（20-63 V） voltages.

A Novel Hybrid Seven-Level Converter for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Driving System Based on Model Predictive Control

A novel hybrid three-phase seven-level converter is proposed in the paper.Each phase consists of a four-level bridge and a two-level H bridge,which contains ten switching devices and a floating capacitor.The circuit structure is introduced and working principle of the converter containing 14 commutation paths is analyzed,which is easy to control the floating capacitor voltage.In order to drive permanent magnet synchronous motor(PMSM)with the proposed converter,model predictive control(MPC)strategy is adopted.The control objectives such as controlling the currents of PMSM and capacitor voltages balancing are included in a cost function with two weight factors,which can control the currents of PMSM and balance the capacitor voltages simultaneously.To validate the proposed control scheme,simulations in two cases are carried out by using Matlab/Simulink software.Finally,the feasibility and efficiency in two cases are verified with the experimental test bench based on RT_LAB.

Dopant Behaviours of Sm_2O_3 on Microstructure and Properties of Barium Zirconium Titanate Ceramics

The effect of Sm 2O 3 dopant on the sintering characteristics and dielectric properties of barium zirconium titanate ceramics (BaZr x Ti 1- x O 3) was investigated. It is shown that trace amount of Sm 2O 3 can greatly affect the grain growth and densification of barium zirconium titanate ceramics during sintering. At the same time, the dielectric peak at high temperature shifts to lower temperature and that at low temperature shifts to higher temperature. The two dielectric peaks overlap with each other when the Sm 2O 3 dopant content varies from 0 25% to 1%, and the maximum relative dielectric constant is greatly enhanced. These effects may be attributed to the substitution actions of the rare earth element in perovskite lattice. At the doping content of 0 75%, the dielectric constant maximum of 23570 can be obtained. By adopting some proper additives, an excellent Y5V dielective material is obtained, and the room temperature properties are as follows: relative dielectric constant ε RT ≥23,000, dielectric loss tgδ≤0 0075 and the breakdown strength under alternating field E b≥5 kV·mm -1 .

Limits of Uneven Battery Power in Modular Multilevel Converter-based Battery Energy Storage Systems

For modular multilevel converter-based battery energy storage systems (MMC-BESS), uneven power among batteries of SMs will be deduced by battery aging, battery fault, etc., which will degrade performance and even lead to system failure. For maintaining the balance of capacitor voltage, this paper analyzes the limits of the uneven power of batteries, which are presented as the current limits in this paper. According to analysis, an analytical method is proposed that only the dc and fundamental frequency components of the arm current are used to calculate current limits. With the current limits it is able to evaluate the reasonability of power distribution among batteries. Meanwhile, increase of fundamental frequency component will enhance the current limits, and the dc component determines the size relationship between the absolute values of the upper and lower current limits. Finally, simulation model and experiment prototype are built for verifying the theoretical analysis and current limits calculation method, and satisfactory results are provided.

Modulation and Voltage Balancing Control of Dual Five-level ANPC Inverter for Ship Electric Propulsion Systems

Open-end winding motors are used extensively in ship electric propulsion systems,in which medium-voltage high-power inverters are a critical component.To increase the system voltage and power density,a dual five-level active neutral-point clamped(ANPC)inverter is proposed herein to drive medium-voltage open-end winding motors for ship electric propulsion.Each phase of this inverter comprises two five-level ANPC bridges and all the phases are powered by a common direct-current link.A hybrid modulation method is proposed to control this inverter.The series-connected switches in all the five-level ANPC bridges are operated at the fundamental frequency,and the other switches are controlled with a phase-shifted pulse-width modulation(PWM),which can achieve a natural balance between the neutral-point voltage and flying capacitor voltages in a carrier period.A closed-loop capacitor voltage balancing method based on adjusting the duty ratios of the PWM signals is proposed.The neutral-point voltage and flying capacitor voltages can be controlled independently and balanced without affecting the output phase voltage.Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the validity of this method.

Modular Multilevel Converter with Thyristor DC-link Switch for Full-torque Variable-speed Drives

The modular multilevel converter(MMC)is a promising topology for medium-voltage drive applications due to its high-quality output waveforms,low device switching frequency and voltage rating.However,the large cell capacitor voltage ripple is a severe challenge faced by MMC at low motor speeds.Recently,a hybrid MMC(HMMC)topology is proven to be a competitive solution because of its lower cell capacitor voltage ripple and not demonstrating a common-mode voltage(CMV)problem compared with other methods.However,the DC-link switch with IGBT limits HMMC from being applied in highvoltage applications.This paper uses a thyristor instead of IGBT as the DC-link switch.To ensure the thyristor can be softly turned on and safely turned off,a new control scheme is proposed.When using this proposed scheme,HMMC can also tolerate the failure of the thyristor being turned-off without shutting down the system,effectively improving its reliability.The cell capacitor voltage ripple analysis is presented considering the effects of the thyristor switching process.In addition,a decoupled energy balancing control is utilized to suppress the fluctuation of the DC current.Experimental results obtained from a 380 V/7.5 kW downscaled prototype validate the effectiveness of starting up a motor from the standby mode to rated speed applying full-torque.

A DC Current Flow Controller for Meshed Modular Multilevel Converter Multiterminal HVDC Grids

This paper proposes the design of a novel DC current flow controller(CFC)and evaluates the control performance of balancing and regulating the DC branch currents using the DC CFC in a meshed multi-terminal HVDC(MTDC)grid.The DC CFC consists of two identical full bridge DC-DC converters with the capacitors of the two converters being connected in parallel.The scalability of the DC CFC is easily achievable due to the identical bridge converter topology;the cost of this DC CFC is also relatively low due to its simple physical structure and low voltage ratings.The control performance of the DC CFC is tested on a meshed 3-terminal(3-T)HVDC grid,which is based on modular multilevel converters(MMC).The DC branch current control in the meshed MTDC grid is achieved using the proposed control strategy of the DC CFC,and is verified through case studies on the real-time digital simulator(RTDS).

Overview on Submodule Topologies,Modeling,Modulation,Control Schemes,Fault Diagnosis,and Tolerant Control Strategies of Modular Multilevel Converters

In the present scenario,modular multilevel converters(MMCs)are considered to be one of the most promising and effective topologies in the family of high-power converters because of their modular design and good scalability;MMCs are extensively used in high-voltage and high-power applications.Based on their unique advantages,MMCs have attracted increasing attention from academic circles over the past years.Several studies have focused on different aspects of MMCs,including submodule topologies,modeling schemes,modulation strategies,control schemes for voltage balancing and circulating currents,fault diagnoses,and fault-tolerant control strategies.To summarize the current research status of MMCs,all the aforementioned research issues with representative research approaches,results and characteristics are systematically overviewed.In the final section,the current research status of MMCs and their future trends are emphasized.

Modular Multilevel Converter with Wireless Magnetic Power Decoupling for Three-phase MV Adjustable-speed Drives

In this paper,we propose a modular multilevel converter(MMC)with a wireless magnetic power decoupling approach suitable for medium-voltage high-power variable-speed machine drives.Our proposed power decoupling approach is independent of the operating frequency,which solves the issue of wide fluctuations of low-frequency voltage ripple components in submodule(SM)capacitors,especially at low-speed operations without using any ripple power capacitor.Employing wireless magnetic elements reduces the amount of high-voltage insulation between the transformer windings,resulting in a significant reduction in the overall size of the system.The basic idea of our proposed approach is to magnetically couple the instantaneous three-phase ripple power of each of the three adjacent-arm SMs.The proposed MMC is free from low-frequency capacitors,resulting in enhanced system reliability,volume,and lifetime.The operation principles of the proposed MMC are explained,and a control design is introduced.The performance of the proposed scheme was verified via simulation and experimental tests.