TY - JOUR
T1 - New hybrid thyristor-based multilevel converter with DC fault blocking capability, for HVDC applications
AU - Abdelaziz, Yousef N.
AU - Ahmed, Khaled H.
AU - Williams, Barry W.
N1 - Copyright © 2023 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
PY - 2024/1/1
Y1 - 2024/1/1
N2 - High voltage direct current systems are the most suitable solution for distant high-power transmission, where modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are now utilized due to their controllability, modularity, redundancy, and scalability. Dc fault blocking capability in MMCs is normally achieved by using full-bridge submodules (FB-SMs) in the arms. However, using FB-SMs results in a high semiconductor count, which increases power losses and the overall cost. In this article, a new hybrid thyristor-based multilevel converter (HTMC) with dc fault blocking capability is proposed that uses a low number of FB-SMs with a majority of half-bridge submodules and antiparallel thyristor valves. The theory of operation is detailed including the function of each element and thyristor valve commutation. Full parameter analysis is provided for the proposed converter. The claims of the article are verified using a MATLAB Simulink model and an experimental test rig. Additionally, a detailed comparison with other viable converters is provided, which establishes that the proposed HTMC converter offers a low number of IGBTs, and lower cost and losses, with dc fault-blocking capability.
AB - High voltage direct current systems are the most suitable solution for distant high-power transmission, where modular multilevel converters (MMCs) are now utilized due to their controllability, modularity, redundancy, and scalability. Dc fault blocking capability in MMCs is normally achieved by using full-bridge submodules (FB-SMs) in the arms. However, using FB-SMs results in a high semiconductor count, which increases power losses and the overall cost. In this article, a new hybrid thyristor-based multilevel converter (HTMC) with dc fault blocking capability is proposed that uses a low number of FB-SMs with a majority of half-bridge submodules and antiparallel thyristor valves. The theory of operation is detailed including the function of each element and thyristor valve commutation. Full parameter analysis is provided for the proposed converter. The claims of the article are verified using a MATLAB Simulink model and an experimental test rig. Additionally, a detailed comparison with other viable converters is provided, which establishes that the proposed HTMC converter offers a low number of IGBTs, and lower cost and losses, with dc fault-blocking capability.
KW - thyristors
KW - valves
KW - voltage
KW - costs
KW - circuit faults
KW - harmonic analysis
KW - multilevel converters
KW - modular multilevel converter (MMC)
KW - HVDC
KW - power control
KW - bidirectional power flow
UR - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10298816/
U2 - 10.1109/TPEL.2023.3328058
DO - 10.1109/TPEL.2023.3328058
M3 - Article
SN - 1941-0107
VL - 39
SP - 911
EP - 923
JO - IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
JF - IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
IS - 1
M1 - 10298816
ER -