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To effectively mitigate the commutation failure (CF) of the line-commutated converter high-voltage direct current (LCC-HVDC) transmission system, a dynamic series voltage compensator (DSVC) scheme is proposed. The DSVC consists of three integrated gate-commutated thyristor (IGCT)-based full-bridge submodule (FBSM) chains to match the bulk power transmission of the LCC-HVDC. Inserted between the transformer and the AC port of the inverter, the DSVC assists the commutation process by superposing the transient voltage to the AC line voltage and increasing the commutation margin of the inverter valve. Operation and control strategies, which are two critical techniques for the DSVC, are designed based on the working states of the FBSMs, assisting the commutation process and balancing the DSVC capacitor dynamic voltages. The CF detection method is another critical technique of the DSVC control and is improved considering the reverse time of the LCC-HVDC thyristors. Compared with the topologies proposed in existing literature, the DSVC has better performances in safe and stable operation due to the urgent control strategy considering situations beyond its ability. A detailed EMT simulation shows that the DSVC can respond quickly to mitigate CFs and validate the effectiveness of the overall design and key techniques. Furthermore, the operation and control strategy can limit the current stress once it is beyond the capability of the DSVC, which guarantees its feasibility and practicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel hybrid-arm modular multilevel converters (HA-MMCs) topology with DC low voltage operation and fault ride-through capability is proposed for unidirectional HVDC bulk power transmission. The HA-MMCs topology is a combination of two types of converter arms: the half-bridge sub-module based arm (HBSM-arm) and the diagonal bridge sub-module based arm (DBSM-arm). Replacing the traditional HBSM-MMC, the HA-MMCs are operated in current and reactive power control modes during normal conditions and can work as the rectifier or the inverter. Since the DBSM can provide bipolar voltages with unipolar currents, the HA-MMCs need not change its control strategy under DC low voltage conditions caused by the high-impedance faults. Under DC pole-to-pole or pole-to-ground faults, the HA-MMCs can both clear the DC fault current and work as the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) to provide reactive power to support the AC grid. Compared with other MMC topologies with DC fault ride-through capability, the HA-MMCs topology is more economical for significantly decreasing the number of power devices. The operation states, control strategy and DC low voltage operation capability of the HA-MMCs are presented and simulation results of the LCC-HA-MMC hybrid system using PSCAD/EMTDC validate the characteristics and advantages of the HA-MMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel bipolar modular multilevel converter (MMC) topology with dc fault ride-through capability. The proposed bipolar MMC topology is a hybrid of two types of arms: the half-bridge submodule (HBSM)-based arms (HBSM-arms) which are connected to the ground pole, and the unipolar-voltage full-bridge submodule (UFBSM)-based arms (UFBSM-arms) which are connected to the positive or negative pole. During a pole-to-ground or pole-to-pole dc fault, the hybrid-arm design offers the proposed UFBSM-based hybrid-arm bipolar MMC (UHA-BMMC) the capability to provide additional reactive power to support the ac grid while blocking the dc fault current. The topology, operation principle, dc fault mechanisms, and dc fault ride-through scheme of the UHAB-MMC are presented in this paper. Compared with other possible bipolar MMC topologies, the UHA-BMMC provides good dc fault ride-through capability with a small cost of power-electronic devices. The validity and features of the proposed UHA-BMMC are verified by simulation results conducted in PSCAD/EMTDC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) operation scheme of the modular multilevel converter adopting clamp double submodules (CDSM-MMC) during a pole-to-pole dc fault is proposed. By analyzing the current paths of a CDSM, this paper proposes three new operation states of the CDSM, which allow the CDSM to provide bipolar voltages when the arm current that flows through it is negative. Through control of the CDSMs to operate in these new states along with the blocked state, the arms of the CDSM-MMC can operate alternately in two different modes, that is, the conducting mode and blocked mode even when the dc-link voltage drops to zero. Thus, the CDSM-MMC is capable of working as a STATCOM during a dc fault. Moreover, a control strategy of the dc-fault STATCOM operation mode is designed to control the reactive power provided by the CDSM-MMC, to limit the dc fault current, and to reserve and balance the energies stored in capacitors. Simulation results conducted in PSCAD/EMTDC demonstrate the validity of the proposed STATCOM operation scheme and control strategy of the CDSM-MMC during a pole-to-pole dc fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]