Synchronization of the distributed PWM carrier waves for modular multilevel converters

Paul Dan Burlacu, Laszlo Mathe, Remus Teodorescu

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/conference proceedingArticle in proceedingResearchpeer-review

43 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The half-bridge modular multilevel converter has proven itself to be a suitable solution for HVDC application. In order to achieve high modularity and fault tolerance, distributed control strategy is one possible solution and is discussed in this paper. When distributed control strategy is used, there is a central controller and a local controller in each sub-module (SM). A problem appears when implementing the modulation using this type of control strategy; this is the lack of synchronization between the internal clocks of the different submodules controllers of the MMC. This will cause a drift between the PWM outputs of each sub-module increasing the total harmonic distortion of the output voltage. This paper presents a solution to synchronize the PWM outputs of the MMC submodules using EtherCAT communication protocol focusing on phase shifted PWM modulation technique.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2014 International Conference on Optimization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (OPTIM 2014)
Number of pages7
PublisherIEEE Press
Publication date2014
Pages553 - 559
ISBN (Print)9781479951840
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Event14th International Conference on Optimization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment - Brasov, Romania
Duration: 22 May 201424 May 2014

Conference

Conference14th International Conference on Optimization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Country/TerritoryRomania
CityBrasov
Period22/05/201424/05/2014
SeriesOptimization of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (OPTIM), Proceedings
ISSN1842-0133

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