• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.222-231
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• 2017

In this paper, a new architecture for a cost-effective power conditioning systems (PCS) using a single-sourced asymmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (MLI) for photovoltaic (PV) applications is proposed. The asymmetric MLI topology has a reduced number of parts compared to the symmetrical type for the same number of voltage level. However, the modulation index threshold related to the drop in the number of levels of the inverter output is higher than that of the symmetrical MLI. This problem results in a modulation index limitation which is relatively higher than that of the symmetrical MLI. Hence, an extra voltage pre-regulator becomes a necessary component in the PCS under a wide operating bias variation. In addition to pre-stage voltage regulation for the constant MLI dc-links, another auxiliary pre-regulator should provide isolation and voltage balance among the multiple H-bridge cells in the asymmetrical MLI as well as the symmetrical ones. The proposed PCS uses a single-ended DC-DC converter topology with a coupled inductor and charge-pump circuit to satisfy all of the aforementioned requirements. Since the proposed integrated-type voltage pre-regulator circuit uses only a single MOSFET switch and a single magnetic component, the size and cost of the PCS is an optimal trade-off. In addition, the voltage balance between the separate H-bridge cells is automatically maintained by the number of turns in the coupled inductor transformer regardless of the duty cycle, which eliminates the need for an extra voltage regulator for the auxiliary H-bridge in MLIs. The voltage balance is also maintained under the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Thus, the PCS is also operational during light load conditions. The proposed architecture can apply the module-integrated converter (MIC) concept to perform distributed MPPT. The proposed architecture is analyzed and verified for a 7-level asymmetric MLI, using simulation results and a hardware implementation.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.232-239
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• 2015

Faced with unbalanced grid operation mode, the high voltage direct current (HVDC) based on voltage source converter (VSC) can be properly controlled by a dual current control scheme. For the modular multilevel converter (MMC) controlling the AC side current is able to limit the arm current which flows along the IGBT of submodule (SM) to rated current. However the limitation of the arm current results in leaving the control range of active power at MMC confined to below the rated capacity. As a result, limiting the arm current causes the problem that the DC side voltage of the HVDC can not be controlled to the reference value since MMC HVDC adjusts the DC side voltage through the active power. In this paper, we propose the algorithm adjusting the active powers of both MMCs to resolve the problem. The back-to-back MMC HVDC applying the algorithm is modeled by PSCAD/EMTDC to verify the algorithm.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2001.07a
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• pp.193-196
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• 2001

This paper describes an improved short-circuit protection for a multilevel ac/dc power converter The output do power of the proposed converter can be disconnected from the load within several hundred microseconds at the instant of short-circuit fault. Once the fault has been cleared the dc power is reapplied to the load. The rising time of the do load voltage is as small as several hundred microseconds, and there is no overshoot of the dc voltage because the do output capacitors hold undischarged state. Therefore, the proposed converter can be used for a power supply, which requires a rapid disconnection of the load from the power supply in the case of a short circuit, as well as a rapid connection the load to the power supply after the clearance of the short circuit condition.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1528-1538
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• 2018

In this paper, configuration of $1-{\phi}$ seven-level boost DC-link cascade based reversing voltage multilevel inverter (BDCLCRV MLI) is proposed for uninterrupted power supply (UPS) applications. It consists of three level boost converter, level generation unit and full bridge circuit for polarity generation. When compared with conventional boost cascaded H-bridge MLI configurations, the proposed system results in reduction of DC sources, reduced power switches and gate drive requirements. Inverter switching is accomplished by providing appropriate switching angles that is generated by any optimization switching angle techniques. Here, round modulation control (RMC) method is taken as the optimization method and switching angles are derived and the same is compared with various switching angles methods i.e., equal-phase (EP) method, and half-equal-phase (HEP) method which results in improved quality of obtained AC power with lowest total harmonic distortion (THD). Reduction in DC sources and switch count makes the system more cost effective. A simulation and prototype model of $1-{\phi}$ seven-level BDCLCRV MLI system is developed and its performance is analyzed for various operating conditions.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.746-755
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• 2001

This paper proposes a snubber circuit for flying capacitor 3-level inverter and converter. The proposed snubber circuit makes use of Undeland snubber as basic snubber unit. It has such an advantage of Undeland snubber used in the two-level inverter. Compared with conventional RLD/RCD snubber for 3-level inverter and converter, the proposed snubber keeps such good features as fewer number of components, reduction of voltage stress of main switching devices due to low overvoltage, and improved efficiency of system due to low snubber loss. In this paper, the proposed snubber is applied to multilevel flying capacitor inverter and its feature is demonstrated by computer simulation and experimental result.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.829-838
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• 2016

This paper focuses on the engineering trade-offs in designing capacitor voltage balancing schemes for modular multilevel converters (MMC) HVDC: regulation performance and switching loss. MMC is driven by the on/off switch operation of numerous submodules and the key design concern is balancing submodule capacitor voltages minimizing switching transition among submodules because it represents the voltage regulation performance and system loss. This paper first introduces the state-of-the-art MMC-HVDC submodule capacitor voltage balancing methods reported in the literatures and discusses the trade-offs in designing these methods for HVDC application. This paper further proposes a submodule capacitor balancing scheme exploiting a control signal to flexibly interchange between the on-state and the off-state submodules. The proposed scheme enables desired performance-based voltage regulation and avoids unnecessary switching transitions among submodules, consequently reducing the switching loss. The flexibility and controllability particularly fit in high-level MMC HVDC applications where the aforementioned design trade-offs become more crucial. Simulation studies for MMC HVDC are performed to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed capacitor voltage balancing algorithm.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.914-922
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• 2017

Multilevel converters have attracted a lot of attention in recent years. The efficiency parameters of a multilevel converter such as the switching losses and total harmonic distortion (THD) mainly depend on the modulation strategy used to control the converter. Among all of the modulation techniques, the selective harmonic elimination (SHE) method is particularly suitable for high-power applications due to its low switching frequency and high quality output voltage. This paper proposes a new expression for the SHE problem in five-level converters. Based on this new expression, a simple analytical method is introduced to determine the feasible modulation index intervals and to calculate the exact value of the switching angles. For each selected harmonic, this method presents three-level or five-level waveforms according to the value of the modulation index. Furthermore, a flowchart is proposed for the real-time implementation of this analytical method, which can be performed by a simple processor and without the need of any lookup table. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated with several simulation and experimental results for a single phase five-level diode-clamped inverter.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.529-539
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• 2019

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become a promising topology for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems. To control a MMC system properly, the ac-side current, circulating current and submodule (SM) capacitor voltage are taken into consideration. This paper proposes a low-computation indirect model predictive control (IMPC) strategy that takes advantages of the conventional MPC and has no weighting factors. The cost function and duty cycle are introduced to minimize the tracking error of the ac-side current and to eliminate the circulating current. An optimized merge sort (OMS) algorithm is applied to keep the SM capacitor voltages balanced. The proposed IMPC strategy effectively reduces the controller complexity and computational burden. In this paper, a discrete-time mathematical model of a MMC system is developed and the duty ratio of switching state is designed. In addition, a simulation of an eleven-level MMC system based on MATLAB/Simulink and a five-level experimental setup are built to evaluate the feasibility and performance of the proposed low-computation IMPC strategy.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2013.11a
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• pp.79-80
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• 2013

MMC(Modular Multilevel Converter)는 여러 개의 Power Module을 직렬로 연결하여 정현파에 가까운 고전압의 파형을 얻을 수 있는 토폴로지로 대용량 전력변환 분야의 요구를 만족하면서 전력 품질을 향상시킬 수 있어 근래에 상당히 주목받고 있다. 당사에서는 5Mvar급 STATCOM(STATic synchronous COMpensator)을 MMC 형태로 제작하였다. 제작된 5Mvar급 STATCOM은 한 상당 12대의 Power Module로 구성하여 25-Level로 제작되었다. 제어시스템은 DSP(Digital Signal Processor)를 이용하였으며, 하나의 Main Controller와 다수의 Cell Controller, FPGA 보드 등으로 구성되어 있다. Controller 간의 상호 정보를 교환하기 위해 CAN 통신을 이용하였고, Power Module의 스위칭을 위한 보드는 각각에 연결되어 있으며, Cell Controller보드와는 절연을 위해 광신호로 연결하였다. 본 논문에서는 MMC 시스템의 제어기간 CAN 통신인터페이스와 Power Module의 PWM 동기화에 대해 설명을 하였다.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.281-285
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• 2001

This paper proposes a snubber circuit for flying capacitor multilevel inverter and converter. The proposed snubber circuit makes use of Undeland snubber as basic snubber unit. It has such an advantage of Undeland snubber used in the two-level inverter. Compared with conventional RLD/RCD snubber for multilevel inverter and converter, the proposed snubber keeps such good features as fewer number of components, reduction of voltage stress of main switching devices due to low overvoltage, and improved efficiency of system due to low snubber loss. In this paper. the proposed snubber is applied to three-level flying capacitor inverter and its feature is demonstrated by computer simulation and experimental result.