Small-Scale Modular Multilevel Converter for Multi-Terminal DC Networks Applications: System Control Validation
Elie Talon Louokdom,
Serge Gavin,
Daniel Siemaszko,
Frédéric Biya-Motto,
Bernard Essimbi Zobo,
Mario Marchesoni,
Mauro Carpita
Affiliations
Elie Talon Louokdom
Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Serge Gavin
Département des Technologies Industrielles (TIN), Haute école Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, Route de Cheseaux 1, 1401 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Daniel Siemaszko
Power Electronics and Systems Consultancy, Rue de Lyon 27, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Frédéric Biya-Motto
Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Bernard Essimbi Zobo
Laboratory of Electronics, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, P.O. Box 812 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Mario Marchesoni
Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Genova, Via all’Opera Pia 11A, 16145 Genova, Italy
Mauro Carpita
Département des Technologies Industrielles (TIN), Haute école Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO), University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland, Route de Cheseaux 1, 1401 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
This paper presents the design and implementation of a digital control system for modular multilevel converters (MMC) and its use in a 5 kW small-scale prototype. To achieve higher system control reliability and multi-functionality, the proposed architecture has been built with an effective split of the control tasks between a master controller and six slave controllers, one for each of the six arms of the converter. The MMC prototype has been used for testing both converter and system-level controls in a reduced-scale laboratory set up of a Multi-Terminal DC transmission network (MTDC). The whole control has been tested to validate the proposed control strategies. The tests performed at system level allowed exploration of the advantages of using an MMC in a MTDC system.
