The Impact of Voltage-Balancing Control on Switching Frequency of the Modular Multilevel Converter.

Voltage-balancing control in a modular multilevel converter (MMC) impacts not only the voltage difference among submodule capacitors, but also the power device switching patterns. As a result, MMC possesses a nondeterministic switching pattern and its switching frequency is no longer an independent parameter. This paper theoretically investigates how voltage-balancing control influences the switching frequency in the MMC. Equations describing the relationship between the submodule capacitor unbalanced voltage and converter switching frequency are derived. Since unbalanced voltage also impacts the submodule capacitor ripple voltage and voltage/current harmonics, the design interaction between switching frequency and submodule capacitance, as well as the selection of unbalanced voltage are further investigated. Both simulation and experimental verifications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]