Power Ripple Control Method for Modular Multilevel Converter under Grid Imbalances

Abstract

Modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are primarily adopted for high-voltage applications, and are highly desired to be operated even under fault conditions. Researchers focused on improving current controllers to reduce the adverse effects of faults. Vector control in the DQ reference domain is generally adopted to control the MMC applications. Under unstable grid conditions, it is challenging to control double-line frequency oscillations in the DQ reference frame. Therefore, active power fluctuations are observed in the active power due to the uncontrolled AC component’s double line frequency component. This paper proposes removing the active power’s double-line frequency under unbalanced grid conditions during DQ transformation. Feedforward and feedback control methods are proposed to eliminate ripple in active power under fault conditions. An extraction method for AC components is also proposed for the power ripple control to eliminate the phase error occurring with the conventional high-pass filters. The system’s stability with the proposed controller is tested and compared with a traditional MMC controller using the Nyquist stability criterion. A real-time digital simulator (RTDS) and Xilinx Virtex 7-based FPGA were used to verify the proposed control methods under single-line-to-ground (SLG) faults.