A simplified control parameter optimisation method of the hybrid modular multilevel converter in the medium‐voltage DC distribution network for improved stability under a weak AC system

Abstract

Abstract To improve the stability of the hybrid modular multilevel converter (MMC), a simplified dominant mode‐based control parameter optimisation method of the hybrid MMC system is proposed. Firstly, in the medium‐voltage DC distribution network, the small‐signal model of the hybrid MMC is established. Secondly, the influence of a weak AC system on stability is analysed through eigenvalue analysis. Finally, a simplified objective function is designed for eigenvalues of the dominant mode by considering only real parts, and improved small‐signal stability can be achieved by control parameters optimisation. The proposed method optimises all control parameters at the same time, which further reduces the number of algorithm iterations. Simulation results show that by the proposed control parameter optimisation method, the hybrid MMC has better transient performance and reduced disturbance under SCR variation, indicating a significantly improved system stability, and the dynamic response time can be reduced.

Keywords

• control parameter optimisation
• hybrid modular multilevel converter (MMC)
• medium‐voltage DC (MVDC) distribution network
• weak AC system