A Novel Single DC Source Three-Phase Wye Packed U-Cell (Y-PUC) Converter

Abstract

A new configuration of three-phase Wye Packed U-cells (Y-PUC) with a single DC source is proposed in this paper. In fact, this configuration represents a single DC source modular three-phase PUC converter. The DC source on PUC topology is replaced by a flying capacitor to obtain a suitable submodule. Moreover, the modularity of the Y-PUC configuration makes it an appropriate alternative for MMC applications. Furthermore, the proposed structure is an advantageous configuration for high voltage applications such as high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines with the capability of DC fault handling. All PUC topologies such as PUC5, PUC7, PUC9, PUC15 can be replaced in the modules of this proposed single-phase and three-phase configuration to multiply the load voltage levels for improving the output waveform. Active voltage balancing technique through carrier-based modulation is applied. System modeling and operating sequences are developed. Simulation and experimental results are presented and discussed to validate the performance of the proposed structure.

Keywords

• Multilevel converter
• Y-PUC converter
• PUC-MMC
• three-phase PUC converter
• single DC source
• ungrounded double star