A method for charging and discharging capacitors in Modular Multilevel Converter

In this paper, a method for charging and discharging capacitors in Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is explained. The proposed method helps to start the converter from a de-energized condition and does not require any auxiliary voltage source. An additional resistance is inserted in the MMC arm and by appropriately switching this resistance, both charging and discharging of the MMC cells can be accomplished. A theoretical background is presented for drives applications and design examples are included. Simulation and experimental results are included at the end to validate the proposed concept.

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