Loss calculation method and loss characteristic analysis of MMC based VSC-HVDC system

Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) has been accepted as the most competitive alternative for Voltage Source Converter (VSC) HVDC application. It is a very important issue to evaluate the converter losses and efficiency for a VSC-HVDC installation. A method is proposed to calculate the losses of a MMC using a digital calculation way. The switching waveforms are simulated in the digital calculation and the voltage and current waveforms of a line-frequency period are thereby obtained. Then using the parameters provided in the device datasheet, the switching losses and conduction losses can be obtained. A digital calculation program was developed and the converter losses of a MMC are calculated for various operating conditions. The losses of various devices in a submodule are calculated. The impacts of the switching frequency and circulating current are also comprehensively analyzed.

[1]  Kurt Friedrich,et al.  Modern HVDC PLUS application of VSC in Modular Multilevel Converter topology , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics.

[2]  Colin Oates,et al.  A comparison of two methods of estimating losses in the Modular Multi-Level Converter , 2011, Proceedings of the 2011 14th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications.

[3]  Rainer Marquardt,et al.  An innovative modular multilevel converter topology suitable for a wide power range , 2003, 2003 IEEE Bologna Power Tech Conference Proceedings,.

[4]  Marc Hiller,et al.  Modulation, Losses, and Semiconductor Requirements of Modular Multilevel Converters , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[5]  Wenhua Liu,et al.  Capacitor voltage balancing control based on CPS-PWM of Modular Multilevel Converter , 2011, 2011 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition.

[6]  Liu Yang,et al.  Loss calculation method of modular multilevel HVDC converters , 2011, 2011 IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference.

[7]  V.G. Agelidis,et al.  VSC-Based HVDC Power Transmission Systems: An Overview , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[8]  Reza Iravani,et al.  Dynamic performance of a modular multilevel back-to-back HVDC system , 2010, 2011 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting.

[9]  K. Ilves,et al.  Analysis of arm current harmonics in modular multilevel converters with main-circuit filters , 2012, International Multi-Conference on Systems, Sygnals & Devices.

[10]  U N Gnanarathna,et al.  Efficient Modeling of Modular Multilevel HVDC Converters (MMC) on Electromagnetic Transient Simulation Programs , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery.

[11]  R. Marquardt,et al.  Modular Multilevel Converter: An universal concept for HVDC-Networks and extended DC-Bus-applications , 2010, The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference - ECCE ASIA -.

[12]  Zheng Xu,et al.  Power losses evaluation for modular multilevel converter with junction temperature feedback , 2011, 2011 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting.

[13]  H. Akagi,et al.  Control and Experiment of Pulsewidth-Modulated Modular Multilevel Converters , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[14]  Tomas Modeer,et al.  Loss comparison of different sub-module implementations for modular multilevel converters in HVDC applications , 2011, Proceedings of the 2011 14th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications.

[15]  K. Ilves,et al.  Steady-State Analysis of Interaction Between Harmonic Components of Arm and Line Quantities of Modular Multilevel Converters , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.